1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of reading image information and surface quality from a subject copy and readily and efficiently reproducing images including surface quality on various types of sheets.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, images have been formed by various methods such as silver halide photography, heat developing, inkjet recording, thermosensitive recording and electrophotography. In the prior art, techniques for controlling the surface qualities including the gloss of image prints obtained by these various methods are not well known.
However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 05-053288 (Japanese Patent (JP-B) No. 2710881) discloses a photographic apparatus which, in addition to a processor part which produces a printed photograph by developing a printing paper which has been printed and exposed, also comprises a drying part and surface quality treatment part to finish the printed photograph. The surface quality treatment part of this photographic apparatus comprises a pressure roller having surface depressions and protrusions which forms a desired surface quality on the printed photograph surface, and a shift mechanism which sets this pressure roller in a state where it can be pressed against the printed photograph. As a result, printed photographs having a desired surface quality can easily be obtained without replacing printing papers or interrupting the printing and exposure.
However, the surface quality treatment part in this photographic apparatus described in JP-A No. 05-53288 had a construction wherein the printed photograph surface was pressed by a pressure roller having a desired transfer roughness, and the depressions/protrusions on the pressure roller surface were transferred to the printed photograph. The surface quality treatment part of this photographic apparatus was adapted for use only with silver halide photographic sheets. Also, to obtain particular surface quality, it was necessary to provide a number of rollers having surface roughness for each surface quality, so in practice only about 1–3 surface qualities could be realized. Therefore, according to JP-A No. 05-53288, only one type of treatment could be performed, there was no systematic generality, and performance was unsatisfactory from the viewpoints of operational efficiency and energy efficiency.
Further, regarding the photographic apparatus described in the JP-A No. 05-53288, neither mention nor suggestion is made of reading the surface quality of a subject copy and photographically printing the same surface quality as that of the subject copy.
Further, JP-A No. 2002-31921 proposes an image forming apparatus capable of reading image information and gloss from a subject copy and eliminating any difference in gloss between the subject copy and the printed image. However, it is extremely difficult for this image forming apparatus to accurately reproduce many different surface qualities of silver halide photographic sheets other than glossy, including silk, luster, matte, deep matte and crystal.
Therefore, no image forming apparatus capable of reading image information and surface quality of the subject copy and readily and efficiently reproducing copies of the original image including its surface quality is known as yet.